As
the Army’s senior energy executive, Bollinger is responsible for
implementing the service’s energy security strategy on an enterprise
approach.

"If
we were attacked, or there was a terrible act of nature — and our
Soldiers were called out into the community to either defend or
protect — they need their installation operating," Bollinger
said. "You also have critical infrastructure there, hospitals,
communications, you may have munitions, and you may need electricity
to pump fuel."

Energy
security means that an Army installation still can provide power to
its most critical operations, even if the civilian power grid is
completely down.

For
the Army to accomplish that, it first needs to know the total energy
consumption of each installation as a baseline, Bollinger said. It
must determine the most important parts of the mission that need to be
powered. Those two pieces of information, coupled with an effort to
reduce energy usage through improved efficiency, is how he said the
Army plans to gain energy security on its installations.

"We’re
at the starting line right now for most installations," Bollinger
said. "However, we have six installations with coal-fired power
plants, so they may be energy secure already."

Right
now the Army is conducting studies to determine how much energy is
being used on its installations.

"What
we have to do is come up with the baselines or the benchmarks for our
energy activities," Bollinger said. "That should include the
consumption rate at all installations and what programs are in place
to reduce consumption and utilize alternative energy resources. In
addition, there are federal laws that require all of our buildings to
be metered by 2012. All new Army buildings are metered, but we have
some work to do in order to get older buildings retrofitted for
meters."

Bollinger
also said the Army is working to meet the federal requirement in
Executive Order 13423 to reduce energy consumption by 3 percent per
year for 10 years.

He
said leadership at the Army’s Installation Management Command is
making great strides in this area, but hopes that the new Army energy
initiative will give their efforts a major boost.

Reducing
energy usage and increasing energy efficiency on Army posts are not
enough to provide energy security, however. Army bases must also be
able to generate their own power for their most critical missions, if
called on to do so.

Developing
facilities that can power the needs of the Army and at the same time
draw on renewable resources is something the Army isn’t going to
tackle alone.

"This
is a partnership with the private sector," Bollinger said.
"We are inviting them to come in and assist us in reaching our
goal of energy security.

The
Army is taking a leadership role and is committed to making our
installations energy secure and reducing greenhouse gas emissions —
we call that smart energy."

The
Army currently has several ongoing energy projects, including the
solar projects at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Fort Carson, Colo., and
large-scale energy-management programs at Fort Hood, Texas.

Recently,
Secretary of the Army Pete Geren announced several pilot energy
projects: the development of a 500-megawatt solar thermal plant at
Fort Irwin, Calif.; a 30Mw geothermal plant at Hawthorne Army Depot,
Nev.; and biomass-to-fuel demonstrations at six Army posts; a giant
Energy Savings Performance Contract for an entire installation; and,
the purchase of 4,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, or NEVs, that
will be sent to 44 installations.

The
secretary also said he wants the Army to look at wind energy and
nuclear power to make garrisons’ energy secure.

"We
have to be able to protect our country regardless of the
situation," Bollinger said. "There may be a premium paid for
energy security, but it is a premium with a huge payback when it comes
to defending our country."

The
Energy and Partnership Office implements policy set by the Army’s
recently established Senior Energy Council.

The
council focuses on energy and how to minimize its impact on
warfighting capability and operational effectiveness both in theater
and in the United States.

The
goal is to reduce energy consumption, increase energy efficiency and
provide energy security for the Army. The council is co-chaired by the
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations and Environment
Keith Eastin and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli.